Obscure Vietnam type question.

[hairy]

How many, if any, YO-3A aircraft survive?
Are any airworthy or near airworthy?

I know the USAAF stopped using them after Vietnam but some were reissued to other government agencies.

[N3Njeff]

I know that the USCG used some for counter-drug work. I know they had at least one at the MIAMI base in the 90's. I knew one of the crewmembers. I dont know if they still are using them.

[O.P.]

Nasa Ames has one. My friend says its in the hangar over there now getting an engine overhaul. I'll try to get a look at it and maybe some pictures.

[bdk]

http://www.yo-3a.com/pages/11/index.htm
http://www.yo-3a.com/pages/3/index.htm
http://www.quietaircraft.org/pages/2/index.htm
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/YO-3A/HTML/EC97-44128-1.html

And what was the designation of the ultra-quiet Bonanza with the odd looking nose from its geared engine? They had one on display at Oshkosh a number of years ago.

[snj-5]

There is one parked at the Skagit Regional / Bayview airport
in Washington State (airport ID = KBVS)

I don't think it has flown in a long time. The tires are rotting
off the rims and the 6-bladed wooden prop is also rotten.

Other than that, it looks like with some effort, it could be
made to fly again.

Bela P. Havasreti

[tom d. friedman]

looks like it is mutated or has birth defects!!!!

[stumac]

There used to be one up at Waterbury Oxford Airport (Conn). The guy who owned it was Dick Osbourne. This is going back about 15-20 years ago. Dick was a part time pilot for us at Skytypers (very infrequent) however I would talk to him about it and he said when he flew it that it made very little noise almost more wind noise than motor noise. I don't know if it is still there or not the last time I flew up there it was rotting into the ground.
There is one at Hawthorne Airport (CA) that is in that little museum at the end of the runway. Unless they sell or trade it I doubt it will ever fly again. I went in there once and they have a bunch of these projects that are being worked on that will never get finnished the YO3A is one of them.
It would be kinda cool to see one flying.

[hairy]

With the above stories of these rare (only 11 built) combat vets rotting really suprises me, surely they would be an ideal first timers 'warbird' with low running costs.

........and the view out of that canopy must be incredible.

[bdk]

There is one at Hawthorne Airport (CA) that is in that little museum at the end of the runway. Unless they sell or trade it I doubt it will ever fly again. I went in there once and they have a bunch of these projects that are being worked on that will never get finnished the YO3A is one of them.

The Western Museum of Flight does not have this aircraft listed on its website (that I can find), but I remember seeing it there once.

http://www.wmof.com/

[Roger Cain]

Hiller Aviation Museum has one in San Carlos, CA in a grey camouflage scheme, marked as U.S. Army 18001

[Tulio]

"I know that the USCG used some for counter-drug work. I know they had at least one at the MIAMI base in the 90's. I knew one of the crewmembers. I dont know if they still are using them."
_________________
Long Live the N3N-3 "The Last US Military Bi-Plane" 1940-1959

Jeff, are you sure those were YO-3s? I know the USCG used a Schweizer long wing, low noise aircraft for surveillance for a while (don't remember de exact nomenclature right now). If this is the case, there are some in Mexico, operated by their air arm, but if I understand this correctly, provided and funded by the USA.

The YO-3s were "cute" (for a lack of a better term) little aircraft, with a bubble canopy, while the Schweizer is a big-ass airplane, that looks ungainly when sitting on its landing gear.

Saludos,


Tulio

[Randy Haskin]

There is one parked at the Skagit Regional / Bayview airport
in Washington State (airport ID = KBVS)

That airplane used to be parked at Auburn Municipal back in the 80s, just a few rows down from where my dad kept his Navion.

[bilwor]

The Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson has one.
bill word

[RickH]

The last time I saw Pima's it was disassembled and sitting next to the remnants of the AT-9.

[L2Driver]

The YO-3 at Waterbury-Oxford Airport (OXF) was there as late as 1993/94. It was parked in the grass between the runway and taxiway for years.

I remember looking closely at it in 1992 while doing some aircraft refresher training there. It was in very sad shape and the aircraft was infested with bees.

When the airport expanded, I think many of the aircraft deemed 'eye-sores' were removed from the field.

The aircraft hadn't moved in years. The grass was mowed around the aircraft and the grass under the nose was thigh-high when I last saw it. Canopy was yellowed/crazed from the sun.

I have no idea what happened to it. I didn't know what it was at the time. The most remarkable features I remember were a very large bubble canopy and an exhaust system nearly as long as the fuselage.